Onaral receives Israel America Chamber of Commerce Recognition

The America-Israel Chamber of Commerce honored Dr. Banu Onaral for her committment to building partnerships with biomedical institutes in Israel.

Drexel University’s Dr. Banu Onaral has been bringing together leaders in technology and industry for years as an H.H. Sun professor and the director of the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems. Her visionary work to further international collaborations for translational research and technology transfer were recognized by the America-Israel Chamber of Commerce on November 15 as the AICC opened its Healthcare Information Technology Conference.

“We are proud to honor Dr. Onaral, who has played a transformative role in the advancement of healthcare collaborations between the Greater Philadelphia Region and Israel,” said Beth Cohen, AICC President and Director of Emerging Growth Services at Blank Rome LLP. “She is a hero with the vision to engage strategically with partners in Israel’s state-of the-art healthcare industry. Hers is a story that needs to be told and we are privileged to do so.”

“Dr. Banu Onaral is one of Drexel’s strongest champions for health innovation partnerships in Israel and worldwide,” said Vice Provost for Global Initiatives Dr. Julie Mostov. “She is making enormous contributions to life saving solutions through translational research collaborations.”

Onaral was a leader in establishing Drexel’s Joint Translational Research Hub with the Institute for Drug Research of Hebrew University. This included hosting a bi-national symposium at Drexel supporting the creation of this hub and a grant program to support commercialization of innovative research.

“Our innovation partnership with the Institute for Drug Research of Hebrew University emerged naturally out of our complementary competences in drug discovery and drug delivery,” Onaral said. “My colleagues and I have simply helped foster the translational collaboration between our research teams. We are delighted that this joint program is now serving as a model for our innovation partnerships in China and other parts of the world.”

Onaral was formally recognized at the opening gala for the AICC’s Healthcare Information Technology Conference on Nov. 15. The conference was a one-day program bringing together healthcare information technology providers from the region and Israel.